Golden Globes on Sharon Stone Watch

Hollywood Foreign Press returns watches sent on behalf of Sharon Stone

By Emily Farache Dec 21, 1999 8:10 PMTags
"Watch it, Sharon!"

So says the Hollywood Foreign Press Association after each of its 82 members was sent a luxury Coach watch on behalf of Golden Globe nominee Sharon Stone.

The HFPA, which has struggled for credibility ever since bestowing a Globe on Pia Zadora for the 1981 bomb Butterfly, immediately returned the watches December 13, the same day they were received, and a week before she received a Best Actress (comedy/musical) nod for her work The Muse.

"This watch was way, way, way beyond the edge of the envelope as far as promotional considerations, like T-shirts," HFPA president Helmut Voss tells today's Daily Variety. "We were touched by her generosity, but this is definitely a no-no for a group like ours that wants to protect the integrity of its award."

Voss, who estimated the watches to cost close to $400, said his group is "a little careful with certain gifts or parties because people are very quick to criticize and think it would affect the voting. So rather than take any chances, we'd rather return."

Now, there's plenty of finger-pointing about who actually initiated Watchgate. Stone's publicist says the timepieces were actually sent by USA Films, which released The Muse. But a USA Films rep tells Variety that Coach provided the watches to the studio for free to be sent on Stone's behalf. Movado, the company that makes the watches for Coach, said that it was USA that purchased the watches. And Variety quotes unnamed sources saying Stone herself was behind the watch mailing.

"Hardly a day goes by without one of these stupid crises arising," Voss says in the trade paper.

The reform-minded Voss has tried to clean up the notoriously corrupt HFPA, which has long accepted expensive gifts like airfare and lodging from the studios. First, there was the Pia Zadora debacle in 1981--she received her prize after her ultra-rich husband bankrolled an HFPA field trip to Vegas. Then, in 1993, the organization's credibility was questioned when Scent of a Woman won three awards after its studio treated the HFPA to an all-expenses-paid New York shindig. And Stone's own win in 1996 (a best actress trophy for Casino) was tarnished after it was learned she wined and dined voters, as well as traded personal appearances and other favors in exchange for the HFPA underwriting her favorite charity, the American Foundation for AIDS research.

In fact, the Globes were so scandalized that they weren't even broadcast on television for 14 years, from the post-Pia show in 1982 to 1996. And last year, NBC made Globe voters sign waivers vowing they didn't accept perks from stars or studios.

Lest you think the HFPA is completely eschewing studio freebies, think again. Voss says members can keep the $35 cell phones from Fine Line pictures for Simpatico, which came with a card from the film's stars Jeff Bridges, Nick Nolte and, yes, Sharon Stone.